Generally, surgeries and procedures performed to the back of a patient require the patient to be positioned in a prone position to provide access to a surgical site. Prior to performing the surgery, protocol typically requires that the patient be anesthetized and intubated while lying on their backs. For the vast majority of back surgeries performed in the United States today, most patients are still anesthetized on a gurney, and then manually lifted, inverted and deposited on an operating table.
There are many challenges associated with the transfer of the patient to the operating table from the gurney, and vice versa. The manual process of transfer is physically demanding and non-physiologic for the staff, and is potentially unsafe for the anesthetized patient. For instance, an anesthetized patient who is in an unconscious state has absolutely no control over their appendages and head, which all have a tendency to flop-down from gravity. If any appendages are not properly supported, it is possible to break, dislocate, or otherwise injure the patient's neck, shoulder area, and/or appendages while manually lifting and inverting the patient. Additionally, the patient may have a preexisting disease or injury to the spine, which if moved or twisted improperly could cause damage or paralysis to the patient. Thus, the staff must remain vigilant to properly support the appendages and body of the patient each time the patient is lifted and inverted. There is also a potential to accidentally lose control of or drop a patient incurring injury to the patient and/or staff.
Additionally, an anesthetized patient assumes “dead weight” which makes that person feel heavier. The weight of the patient exposes staff members, such as nurses, assistants, and doctors, to injuries when lifting the patient. Often times a staff member must lean across a gurney or operating room table exposing themselves to lifting injuries. Sometimes, the weight of the patient is not evenly distributed potentially risking injury to a staff member or patient. Accordingly, liability issues arise when patients are dropped or injured while being oriented on the operating table while sedated. Doctors and hospitals are also exposed to liability when operating staff are injured lifting and positioning sedated patients.
A further potential problem associated with turning the patient from his/her stomach or back involves the potential for patient motion or staff interference with life-support and life-monitoring systems that may be attached to the patient, such as an intravenous line, a catheter, electrode monitoring lines for monitoring the patient's vital signs, and an endotracheal tube for the purposes of administering oxygen and/or anesthesia to the patient. If any one of these life-support or life-monitoring systems is pulled out, crimped, or twisted, it can injure the patient and/or the operating staff.
Still another complication associated with manually lifting and inverting a patient onto an operating table for back surgery involves positioning the patient in proper alignment on the table. Some patients are placed on a Wilson Frame to properly align the back properly thereby and enhancing proper ventilation. The Wilson Frame allows the abdomen to hang pendulous and free. It is often difficult to manually manipulate the patient once placed onto the operating table to ensure proper alignment with the Wilson Frame underneath the patient.
Other ancillary problems involve positioning of the head, chest, and legs with proper support and access for devices such as the endotracheal tube. Anthropometric considerations, such as patient size, including weight and width, cause the operating staff to ensure that proper padding and elevations are used to support the head, chest, and legs. It is not uncommon to find operating staff stuffing pillows or bedding underneath a patient to adjust for different anthropometric features of a patient.
Attempts have been made to solve the manual transfer problems described above. For example, the literature had suggested using a device that traps/sandwiches a patient between sheets and numerous belt and buckle assemblies. These devices do not appear safe, because they potentially trap a patient in a cocoon in the event of a medical emergency. The many belts and buckles also appear to be cumbersome, requiring excessive and unnecessary anesthesia time to fasten and release a patient, further making these proposed devices unsafe and impractical. Furthermore, the sheets do not support the head, torso or legs of the patient once the patient is deposited on the operating table. Additionally, it is uncertain how much weight could be supported by such sheets.
One device capable of positioning the patient into a prone position from a supine position without manual lifting is known as the Jackson Spinal Surgical Table, which is a dedicated back surgery operating table. That is, back surgery is performed directly on the patient while lying on the Jackson Spinal Surgical Table. Although the Jackson Spinal Surgical Table is capable of rotating the patient to and from the supine and prone positions, the Jackson Spinal Surgical Table is not capable of transferring a patient to a conventional operating table or gurney. Nor is the Jackson Spinal Surgical Table capable of depositing a patient on or recovering a patient from a general operating table. Accordingly, once surgery is completed on the Jackson Spinal Surgical Table a patient must still be lifted and transferred from the Jackson table to a gurney or bed. Also, the Jackson table cannot be modified to accommodate a true knee-chest position.
Another drawback associated with the Jackson Spinal Surgical Table is its associated expense. Most hospitals are unable to purchase more than one or a limited number of such tables, limiting the number of back surgeries that can be performed in a hospital at any one time, as each surgery case or procedure ties-up a Jackson Spinal Surgical Table for the entire duration of the surgical case. Additionally, most hospitals are reluctant to purchase conventional operating tables as well as dedicated back surgical tables, and instead, prefer that the doctors use standard operating tables to perform back surgery. In other words, hospitals are not inclined to purchase operating table equipment that cannot be used for other procedures.
Based on the foregoing there are no adequate devices or procedures for safely transferring an anesthetized or sedated patient in the supine position from a gurney to a general operating table in the prone position for spinal surgery, for adequately restraining and supporting proper alignment of the patient for spinal surgery, or for transferring the patient back to the supine position following surgery.